Automobile transaction facilitation based on customer selection of a specific automobile

ABSTRACT

A system, methods, and apparatus for performing automobile transactions are disclosed. In an example embodiment, automobile market data representative of current automobile market characteristics is stored. The automobile market data may include pricing, inventory, and consumer interest information received from dealers, manufacturers, and consumers. A consumer may provide a request for a response regarding a specific automobile using an image of a vehicle identification number or a graphical user interface. Automobile market data may be provided to a dealer based on the request. Bids to sell the specific automobile may be requested from dealers based on the request. Dealer bids may be provided to the consumer with prices and a delivery options. The consumer may select a bid which specifies a pickup location at a first dealer.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to the co-pending commonly-owned patentapplication filed on Jul. 5, 2011, entitled “AUTOMOBILE TRANSACTIONFACILITATION USING A MANUFACTURER RESPONSE,” the entire contents ofwhich is incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

In the automobile industry, consumers typically purchase automobilesfrom dealers or dealerships. Dealers often purchase new automobiles fromseveral manufacturers, to sell to consumers. Consumers typicallynegotiate a lower price than the manufacturer suggested retail pricetypically referred to as the “sticker price” and/or the price the dealerinitially offers. In many cases, the negotiation process for anautomobile may include a large degree of uncertainty for the consumer.Generally, the negotiation process is a zero sum process, and becausethe consumer and the dealer are each trying to get a better deal, thereis typically some lack of trust during the negotiation. Accordingly,both dealers and consumers often base the negotiations on establishedmarket prices. However, market prices can fluctuate rapidly depending avariety of factors. For example, consumer demand may be affected byeconomic factors, such as changes in gasoline prices, unemploymentrates, government sponsored tax rebates for automobile purchases, etc.

In many cases, a consumer may have concerns that a dealer may not offera fair and competitive price. Various products and services have becomeavailable that allow consumers to perform research on market prices forautomobiles. Similarly, dealers negotiating an automobile sale generallydo not know the maximum price a consumer will be willing to pay for aparticular automobile, or how long it will take to sell an automobile ininventory for a given price. Accordingly, dealers also use products andservices for determining and/or tracking market prices. Further,automobile manufacturers may also have an interest in the market pricesfor automobiles, because the market activity captured as automobilemarket information may allow the manufacturer to, for example, moreprofitably determine which automobiles to manufacture, what prices themanufacture should offer to dealers, and whether manufacturer incentivesshould be offered on existing dealer automobile inventory.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a new and innovative system, methods andapparatus for providing automobile market information and performingautomobile transactions. In an example embodiment, automobile marketdata representative of recent automobile market characteristics isstored. The automobile market data may include pricing, inventory, andconsumer interest information received from dealers, manufacturers, andconsumers. A consumer may provide a request for a response regarding aspecific automobile using an image of a vehicle identification number ora graphical user interface. Automobile market data may be provided to adealer based on the request. Bids to sell the specific automobile may berequested from dealers based on the request. Dealer bids may be providedto the consumer with prices and a delivery options. The consumer mayselect a bid which specifies a pickup location at a particular dealer.

Additional features and advantages of the disclosed method and apparatusare described in, and will be apparent from, the following DetailedDescription and the Figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a high level block diagram of an example network communicatingsystem, according to an example embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a detailed block diagram showing an example of a computingdevice, according to an example embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example automobile transactionnetwork structure, according to an example embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 includes a flowchart illustrating an example process forfacilitating an automobile transaction, according to an exampleembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example data architecture,according to an example embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is flow diagram illustrating an example process for facilitatingan automobile transaction, according to an example embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

The present disclosure relates in general to a system for facilitatingautomobile transactions and, in particular, to automobile transactionbased on a consumer selection of a specific automobile. Briefly, in anexample embodiment, a system is provided which allows a consumer torequest information regarding a specific car including dealer bids. Forexample, a consumer may use a mobile device to take a picture of avehicle identification number. The specific vehicle may be identifiedusing optical character recognition to request real-time information onthat automobile. Dealers may provide bids based on the consumer requestusing real-time automobile market information, including intrabrand bidsand interbrand bids. A consumer may select a dealer bid to purchase orlease an automobile based on the prices and delivery options available.Also, the presently disclosed system may advantageously allow forinventoryless bidding by dealers. For example, a dealer that does nothave an automobile in its inventory (e.g., on the dealer lot) can make abid to sell that automobile, and then have that automobile produced by amanufacturer or transported to the dealer lot. In a non-limiting exampleembodiment, certain features disclosed in the present patent applicationmay be commercially embodied in products and services offered bySidekick Technology LLC, the assignee of the present application.

The present system may be readily realized in a network communicationssystem. A high level block diagram of an example network communicationssystem 100 is illustrated in FIG. 1. The illustrated system 100 includesone or more client devices 102, and one or more host devices 104. Thesystem 100 may include a variety of client devices 102, such as desktopcomputers and the like, which typically include a display 112, which isa user display for providing information to users 114, and variousinterface elements as will be discussed in further detail below. Aclient device 102 may be a mobile device 103, which may be a cellularphone, a personal digital assistant, a laptop computer, a tabletcomputer, etc. The client devices 102 may communicate with the hostdevice 104 via a connection to one or more communications channels 106such as the Internet or some other data network, including, but notlimited to, any suitable wide area network or local area network. Itshould be appreciated that any of the devices described herein may bedirectly connected to each other instead of over a network. Typically,one or more servers 108 may be part of the network communications system100, and may communicate with host servers 104 and client devices 102.

One host device 104 may interact with a large number of users 114 at aplurality of different client devices 102. Accordingly, each host device104 is typically a high end computer with a large storage capacity, oneor more fast microprocessors, and one or more high speed networkconnections. Conversely, relative to a typical host device 104, eachclient device 102 typically includes less storage capacity, a singlemicroprocessor, and a single network connection. It should beappreciated that a user 114 as described herein may include any personor entity which uses the presently disclosed system and may include awide variety of parties. For example, as will be discussed in furtherdetail below, users 114 of the presently disclosed system may include aconsumer, a dealer, and/or a manufacturer.

Typically, host devices 104 and servers 108 store one or more of aplurality of files, programs, databases, and/or web pages in one or morememories for use by the client devices 102, and/or other host devices104 or servers 108. A host device 104 or server 108 may be configuredaccording to its particular operating system, applications, memory,hardware, etc., and may provide various options for managing theexecution of the programs and applications, as well as variousadministrative tasks. A host device 104 or server may interact via oneor more networks with one or more other host devices 104 or servers 108,which may be operated independently. For example, host devices 104 andservers 108 operated by a separate and distinct entities may interacttogether according to some agreed upon protocol.

A detailed block diagram of the electrical systems of an examplecomputing device (e.g., a client device 102, and a host device 104) isillustrated in FIG. 2. In this example, the computing device 102, 104includes a main unit 202 which preferably includes one or moreprocessors 204 electrically coupled by an address/data bus 206 to one ormore memory devices 208, other computer circuitry 210, and one or moreinterface circuits 212. The processor 204 may be any suitable processor,such as a microprocessor from the INTEL PENTIUM® family ofmicroprocessors. The memory 208 preferably includes volatile memory andnon-volatile memory. Preferably, the memory 208 stores a softwareprogram that interacts with the other devices in the system 100 asdescribed below. This program may be executed by the processor 204 inany suitable manner. In an example embodiment, memory 208 may be part ofa “cloud” such that cloud computing may be utilized by a computingdevices 102, 104. The memory 208 may also store digital data indicativeof documents, files, programs, web pages, etc. retrieved from acomputing device 102, 104 and/or loaded via an input device 214.

The interface circuit 212 may be implemented using any suitableinterface standard, such as an Ethernet interface and/or a UniversalSerial Bus (USB) interface. One or more input devices 214 may beconnected to the interface circuit 212 for entering data and commandsinto the main unit 202. For example, the input device 214 may be akeyboard, mouse, touch screen, track pad, track ball, isopoint, imagesensor, character recognition, barcode scanner, and/or a voicerecognition system.

One or more displays 112, printers, speakers, and/or other outputdevices 216 may also be connected to the main unit 202 via the interfacecircuit 212. The display 112 may be a cathode ray tube (CRTs), a liquidcrystal display (LCD), or any other type of display. The display 112generates visual displays generated during operation of the computingdevice 102, 104. For example, the display 112 may provide a userinterface, which will be described in further detail below, and maydisplay one or more web pages received from a computing device 102, 104.A user interface may include prompts for human input from a user 114including links, buttons, tabs, checkboxes, thumbnails, text fields,drop down boxes, etc., and may provide various outputs in response tothe user inputs, such as text, still images, videos, audio, andanimations.

One or more storage devices 218 may also be connected to the main unit202 via the interface circuit 212. For example, a hard drive, CD drive,DVD drive, and/or other storage devices may be connected to the mainunit 202. The storage devices 218 may store any type of data, such aspricing data, transaction data, operations data, inventory data,commission data, manufacturing data, image data, video data, audio data,tagging data, historical access or usage data, statistical data,security data, etc., which may be used by the computing device 102, 104.

The computing device 102, 104 may also exchange data with other networkdevices 220 via a connection to the network 106. Network devices 220 mayinclude one or more servers 226, which may be used to store certaintypes of data, and particularly large volumes of data which may bestored in one or more data repository 222. A server 226 may include anykind of data 224 including databases, programs, files, libraries,pricing data, transaction data, operations data, inventory data,commission data, manufacturing data, configuration data, index ortagging data, historical access or usage data, statistical data,security data, etc. A server 226 may store and operate variousapplications relating to receiving, transmitting, processing, andstoring the large volumes of data. It should be appreciated that variousconfigurations of one or more servers 226 may be used to support andmaintain the system 100. For example, servers 226 may be operated byvarious different entities, including automobile manufacturers,brokerage services, automobile information services, etc. Also, certaindata may be stored in a client device 102 which is also stored on theserver 226, either temporarily or permanently, for example in memory 208or storage device 218. The network connection may be any type of networkconnection, such as an Ethernet connection, digital subscriber line(DSL), telephone line, coaxial cable, wireless connection, etc.

Access to a computing device 102, 104 can be controlled by appropriatesecurity software or security measures. An individual users' 114 accesscan be defined by the computing device 102, 104 and limited to certaindata and/or actions. Accordingly, users 114 of the system 100 may berequired to register with one or more computing devices 102, 104. Forexample, registered users 114 may be able to request or manipulate data,such as submitting requests for pricing information or providing anoffer or a bid.

As noted previously, various options for managing data located withinthe computing device 102, 104 and/or in a server 226 may be implemented.A management system may manage security of data and accomplish varioustasks such as facilitating a data backup process. A management systemmay be implemented in a client 102, a host device 104, and a server 226.The management system may update, store, and back up data locally and/orremotely. A management system may remotely store data using any suitablemethod of data transmission, such as via the Internet and/or othernetworks 106.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example automobile transactionnetwork structure 300 which includes an automobile market informationprocessing system 302, a consumer interface 304, a dealer interface 306,and a manufacturer interface 308. The example automobile marketinformation processing system 302 may be implemented on one or more hostdevices 104 accessing one or more servers 108, 226. In an exampleembodiment, the automobile market information processing system 302includes a database system 310, a recommendation engine 312, a vehicleidentification number processor 314, and an interface generation unit316. A user 114 may be a consumer, a dealer, or a manufacturer thatinteracts with the consumer interface 304, dealer interface 306, ormanufacturer interface 308, respectively. A database system 310 mayinclude a wide variety of automobile market data. A recommendationengine 312 may provide recommendations for consumers, dealers, andmanufacturers. A vehicle identification number processor 314 may be usedfor making requests regarding specific automobiles and automobiles withspecific sets of features. For example, a vehicle identification numberprocessor 314 may determine a specific set of features that a specificcar has based on a picture of that specific car's vehicle identificationnumber. Interface generation unit 316 may provide, for example, HTMLfiles which are used at the consumer interface 304, dealer interface306, and manufacturer interface 308 interface to provide information tothe users 114. It should be appreciated that he the consumer interface304, dealer interface 306, and manufacturer interface 308 may beconsidered to be part of the automobile market information processingsystem 302, however, for discussion purposes, the consumer interface304, dealer interface 306, and manufacturer interface 308 may bereferred to as separate from the automobile market informationprocessing system 302.

For example, a user 114 may interact with a consumer interface 304 toresearch automobiles the user 114 is interested in buying. For example,a consumer may be looking for a four door sedan with specific features,including a global positioning system (GPS), a sunroof, tinted windows,rated for at least thirty miles per gallon, four wheel drive, etc. Theconsumer may interact with the consumer interface 304 by inputtingrequired and/or desired features, monthly budget or full price, etc. Theconsumer interface 304 may provide a wide variety of features andspecifications which the consumer may choose from in providing arequest. Based on the information put into the consumer interface 304from the consumer, the consumer interface 304 may provide one or morereports or offers to the consumer. As will be discussed in furtherdetail below, the information provided by the consumer interface 304 mayinclude current market prices for automobiles, including informationrelating to additional features, and may include information on specificautomobiles, for example, which may be en route to a dealer near theconsumer's present location. The automobile market informationprocessing system 302 may process data received by the consumerinterface 304, as well as the dealer interface 306 and/or themanufacturer interface 308, to respond to a request from a consumer. Forexample, data from database system 310 may be queried for use in areport, or a recommendation may be provided by recommendation engine 312according to the consumer request and current market data. Theautomobile market information processing system 302 may integrate datareceived from consumer interface 304, dealer interface 306, andmanufacturer interface 308 to provide current and accurate informationrelating to the automobile market.

It should be appreciated that the consumer interface 304 may be specificto one particular manufacturer or may provide information for multipledifferent manufacturers. For example, a consumer interface 304 may be awebsite with information on many manufacturers, and further, theconsumer interface 304 may access or link to the manufacturer specificwebsites (e.g., Ford). Also, for example, a consumer interface 304 maybe implemented as an automobile manufacturer's website. Typically, amanufacturer's website may provide consumers with a catalog like featurethat provides information on different automobile models with anyavailable options or features. For example, a manufacturer website mayallow a consumer to select options that are desired to “build” aparticular automobile, and may provide price comparisons using suggestedretail prices, which may consumers use for initial research into whatpricing the dealer may offer for a particular automobile with aparticular feature set. Also, typically, the consumer may enterinformation, including, for example, name, an address or zip code, andtelephone number. This information may be passed on from themanufacturer to a nearby dealer and/or nearby dealer information may beprovided to the consumer (e.g., the dealer in or nearest to theconsumer's entered zip code). Accordingly, the dealer may contact theconsumer, or the consumer may inquire with the dealer, regarding thespecific automobiles available on that dealer's lot and particularpricing being offered, etc. In many cases, consumers may not inquirewith dealers that the manufacturer may recommend, and similarly, dealersmay not diligently follow up with consumers that have an interest inpurchasing an automobile. Further, it should be appreciated that theinformation provided via a consumer interface 304 and/or a manufacturerwebsite may be very useful to consumers. For example, in the past,dealers often provided brochures with all the information on amanufacturer's available car models, including all the features andoptions information. However, dealers typically do not providecomprehensive information brochures, which may be relatively expensiveto produce, and rather, that information is typically located on amanufacturer website and/or a consumer interface 304.

Accordingly, the consumer interface 304 may provide a wide range ofinformation, for example, based on any searches or queries performed bya user 114. In an example embodiment, based on a user search or requestfor a response, the consumer interface 304 will display a quality indexor value index based on normalized calculations for an automobile. Therecommendation engine 312 may provide recommendations to a consumerbased on the current automobile market data stored in the automobilemarket information processing system 302. For example, metrics on gasmileage, emissions, operating and maintenance costs, safety ratings,etc. may be benchmarked against comparable automobiles of the same anddifferent manufacturers. Similar purchase options to a specific searchmay also be provided, based on feature matching, price range, consumerpopularity, etc. Information including price ranges, including MSRP,invoice prices, inventory levels, the user's 114 credit ratings (e.g.,FICO score), may be provided which may include monthly payment estimatesor projections. For example, a financing calculator may help a user 114determine what financing rate is appropriate. It should be appreciatedthat dealers may mislead consumers into believing that a higherfinancing rate will be required to secure a loan. Further, for example,a lease vs. buy calculator may be provided which may use current marketdata including prices, interest rates, incentives, estimated mileage peryear, etc. for providing an analysis for a particular consumer regardingpurchasing or leasing. Also, the consumer interface 304 may provide apurchase checklist, for example, of ten steps to buying a car. Aqualitative checklist may allow a user to ask the right questions andget the right answers from a dealer. Additional tips may be provided,such as a list of products or services dealers may attempt to sell to aconsumer with an analysis of the value of these products or services anda recommendation to accept or decline these dealer offers. Further,beyond analysis relating to automobiles, additional analysis or reportsmay be provided, for example, relating to dealer reviews, othersupplemental products, financial entities that may provide financing,etc. For example, dealer reviews may provide a consumer with informationthe consumer may use in addition to automobile pricing and deliveryoptions. Moreover, the consumer interface 304 may provide a wide varietyof useful information to a consumer, for at home research andpreparation, and/or in a dealer location while shopping as a negotiatingtool that may provide confirmation on pricing, useful tips, and thelike.

In an example embodiment, a dealer interface 306 may provide a user 114,such as a dealer employee, information relating to the currentautomobile market. The dealer interface 306 allows a dealer to interactwith automobile market information processing system 302 to provide thedealer with a wide variety of information, including, for example,current market pricing. Other automobile market information a dealer mayreceive on a dealer interface 306 includes information relating to lotinventory, turnover rates, automobile transportation and/or shippingcosts, incentives, and various ratings, such as ratings relating toquality, safety, insurance, a consumer credit score, dealer ratings,residual or resale values, etc. A dealer may input information intodealer interface 306 relating to sales data, including current pricingoffered, special sales offers, actual transaction data, inventory data,etc. In an example embodiment, the dealer may provide informationthrough dealer interface 306 which will be used by automobile marketinformation processing system 302 to prepare reports or offers toconsumers and/or manufacturers. It should be appreciated that a dealeris typically a franchise entity, while a distribution location may notbe a franchise entity. For brevity, throughout this specification, theterm dealer may be used to describe both franchise entity dealers andnon-franchise entity distribution location. Accordingly, as used in thisdisclosure, the term dealer does not indicate whether an entity is afranchise entity. Moreover, a franchise dealer or a non-franchisedistribution location may utilize a dealer interface 306 as describedherein.

In an example embodiment, a manufacturer interface 308 may provide auser 114, such as a manufacturer employee, information relating to thecurrent automobile market, including consumer requests. For example, anmanufacturer interface 308 may provide a manufacturer a request receivedfrom a consumer interface 304. Additionally, the manufacturer interface308 may provide information such as a report that allows themanufacturer to provide a response to the requesting consumer. A reportmay include information from database system 310 relating to currentmarket pricing, recent sales figures and trends, current manufacturerincentives, current inventory, including dealer inventory, inventory intransit, and/or build times or lead times for a desired automobile, etc.The manufacturer may use this information to provide a response to aconsumer request. The manufacturer may provide the manufacturerinterface 308 with information to provide a confirmation, averification, or an offer to a consumer via consumer interface 304. Forexample, a confirmation number associated with the particular consumerrequest may be provided for the consumer. Also, a recommendation may beprovided from the recommendation engine 312 to the manufacturer inrelation to automobile pricing, responding to a specific request,manufacturer incentives, inventory management, production schedules,shipping schedules, etc. It should be appreciated that a manufacturermay be referred to as an OEM or original equipment manufacturer. Themanufacturer interface 308 may provide a manufacturer with a real-timelens into the automobile market which may allow the manufacturer toadjust production schedules, pricing plans, marketing activities, etc.,which may provide a significant advantage for manufacturers.

Accordingly, information may be provided to the automobile marketinformation processing system 302 from consumers, dealers, andmanufacturers with a very high degree of granularity, as everytransaction that occurs and even every request or search may be storedand used by the automobile market information processing system 302.This allows the automobile market information processing system 302 touse the most current automobile market data to provide information toconsumers, dealers, and manufacturers. It should be appreciated thatmarket prices can change relatively quickly, particularly when majorevents drive consumer behavior or manufacturer production, such asnatural disasters. Accordingly, reports and recommendations provided bythe automobile market information processing system 302 may be highlyaccurate, reliable, and sensitive to market changes.

It should be appreciated that certain functions described as performed,for example, at automobile market information processing system 302, mayinstead be performed locally at consumer interface 304, dealer interface306, and manufacturer interface 308, or vice versa. Further, in certaincases, tasks may be performed using consumer interface 304, dealerinterface 306, and manufacturer interface 308 or, for example, performedin person, such as a consumer signing documents at a dealer location, ora dealer communicating with a manufacturer using a telephone. It shouldbe appreciated that the consumer interface 304, dealer interface 306,and manufacturer interface 308 may be implemented, for example, in a webbrowser using an HTML file received from the automobile marketinformation processing system 302. In an example embodiment, theconsumer interface 304, dealer interface 306, and manufacturer interface308 may be located on a website, and may further be implemented as asecure website. Also, consumer interface 304, dealer interface 306, andmanufacturer interface 308 may require a local application, for example,which a manufacturer may pay for to have access to, for example,information from the automobile market information processing system 302such as requests from consumers.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example process 400 for facilitating anautomobile transaction. Although the process 400 is described withreference to the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 4, it will be appreciatedthat many other methods of performing the acts associated with theprocess 400 may be used. For example, the order of many of the blocksmay be changed, certain blocks may be combined with other blocks, andmany of the blocks described are optional.

The example process 400 for facilitating an automobile transaction mayallow users 114, including dealers and consumers, as well asmanufacturers, to efficiently sell and purchase automobiles,respectively. The example process 400 may begin with automobile marketdata including at least pricing data and inventory data stored in adatabase system (block 402). For example, automobile market data fromdealers, consumers, and manufacturers regarding pricing, lot inventory,turnover rates, transport costs, and quality, safety, and/or otherratings is collected and stored in a database. In an example embodiment,a wide variety of data is stored in a database system 310. For example,transport costs may include manufacturer to dealer shipping costs and/ordealer to dealer costs for shipping or transporting an automobile (e.g.,a dealer with multiple locations may drive automobiles between locationsif necessary). Automobile market data may include various relevantratings, reports, awards, or other information, including qualityinformation, safety information, insurance information, consumer creditinformation, dealer rating information, incentive information, residualvalue information, and/or any other data which may be relevant toconsumers. For example, ratings data may include information from theNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), theEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA), and/or the Insurance Institutefor Highway Safety (IIHS). The data may include information from aconsumer interface 304, such as data in consumer searches or requests,information from a dealer interface 306, such as currently offereddealer pricing, transaction data for finalized sales, current inventorydata, transport or shipping costs, and information from a manufacturerinterface 308, such as current manufacturer prices and suggestedpricing, manufacturer incentives, and current inventory includingfinished inventory on hand, production scheduling, shipment scheduling,inventory in transit, and manufacturing lead times. The automobilemarket data may be comprised solely of information received from theconsumer interface 304, dealer interface 306, and manufacturer interface308, or may include additional information received from other sources.It should be appreciated that various methods of storing the automobilemarket data may be employed according to the system requirements. Forexample, database system 310 may be organized according to differentmanufacturers or dealers, automobile make and model, differentinformation categories (e.g., suggested pricing, market prices,production, shipping, lot inventory), etc., and may consist of one ormore databases on one or more servers 108, 226 which may be remotelylocated from each other and/or a host device 104 of the automobilemarket information processing system 302. As will be discussed furtherbelow, the automobile market data may be continually updated as new datais provided to the automobile market information processing system 302.

The example process 400 continues with a consumer providing a requestfor a response of whether an automobile can be provided (block 404). Forexample, a car buyer fills in a request form on a website or takes apicture of a VIN at a dealer to receive a response based on currentmarket data. In an example embodiment, the buyer's request may betransmitted from consumer interface 304 via the internet to theautomobile market information processing system 302. In another exampleembodiment, a car buyer takes a picture of a vehicle identificationnumber (VIN) on a car that the buyer would like to receive informationfor. For example, using an application stored on a mobile device 103,the buyer may be located at a dealer location and take a picture of theVIN on a car. The buyer may want information on that specific car or onother comparable cars with the same or similar features and/or options.The picture of the VIN may be processed using optical characterrecognition, which allows the automobile market information processingsystem 302 to determine the make and model of the car, along withvarious other characteristics of the car. It should be appreciated thatthe VIN may include human readable characters, a bar code, or any othergraphical or machine readable information which acts as a vehicleidentification number. Accordingly, the buyer may perform research, forexample, while at home or while shopping at a dealer location. Further,for example, the buyer may take a picture of a VIN anywhere, includingat automobile trade shows, mall displays, or anywhere new cars or carsfor sale are displayed. The buyer may even take a picture of a carparked in the street as the buyer walks down the street. Any request orquery communicated from the consumer interface 304 may be stored, forexample, in database system 310, thereby updating the automobile marketinformation processing system 302 with current automobile market data.

The example process 400 may continue with providing automobile marketdata to dealers based on the consumer request (block 406). For example,a group of dealers receives a real-time report including local car salesdata, inventory data, ratings data, and transport cost data of theconsumer's requested car. In an example embodiment, a report may includequality information, safety information, insurance information, consumercredit information (e.g., buyer FICO score), dealer rating information,incentive information, residual value information, and/or any other datawhich may be relevant to consumers. The report may be provided throughdealer interface 306 and include the consumer requirements andpreferences. The request and/or the report may be provided in real-timeand may provide real-time data. Data reported based on a real-timeupdates in the automobile market information processing system 302 mayprovide significant advantages, for example, when pricing conditions maychange quickly due to unforeseen market conditions. The recommendationengine 312 may provide recommendations to a dealer based on the currentautomobile market data. For example, a report may indicate variousestimated sales probabilities for different prices that the dealer mayoffer or bid. In an example embodiment, a probability to sell within atime frame may be provided, for example, for a 24 hour period,probabilities and prices may be estimated as, e.g., 80% chance to sellat $22,000; 60% chance to sell at $23,000; 50% chance to sell at$24,000; 20% chance to sell at $25,000. Such information may beillustrated in various ways, such as a bell curve graph or a chart.Further, the recommendation engine may provide daily suggestions (e.g.,a deal of the day). Dealers may use such information to attractconsumers to visit the dealer in person or online as well as prepareresponses or bids to consumer requests. In an example embodiment thedealer interface 306 may provide information that is limited to carswhich meet the consumer request requirements. Dealers may customize thedealer interface 306 to provide information in a pre-specified manner tosuit the dealers particular needs.

A bid to sell the automobile to the consumer is requested from dealers(block 408). For example, a group of dealers within a certain radius ofthe buyer location may receive a bid request. Each dealer's bid mayinclude a price, for example, a price with no additional add-on productsor services, such as service contracts, warranties, aftermarketaccessories, etc. For example, add-on products may provide substantialvalue to a dealer, above and beyond the profit margin for the sale ofthe requested car. A dealer may profit from selling financing options,for example, if a consumer needs financing, the financier may pay thedealer for sourcing the loan. A dealer may sell service plans ormaintenance packages (e.g., an extended service contract), sellingwarranties (e.g., a lifetime warranty), or selling insurance plans(e.g., life, accident, and health insurance, liability insurance,comprehensive insurance, etc.). Also, a dealer may also sell varioushard add accessories, for example, bicycle racks, hitches, commercialaccessories (e.g., lights and sirens), or any aftermarket products ormodifications (e.g., sunroof).

One or more dealer bids are provided to the consumer (block 410). Forexample, several dealers provide bids based on current pricing data,dealer pickup locations, and potential add-ons, so several differentprices and delivery options may be available to the car buyer.Typically, the bid will include at least a specified price and pickuptime and location. In an example embodiment, a buyer that has taken apicture of a VIN with a mobile device may receive dealer bids withinminutes or seconds on the mobile device. Accordingly, the bids may beused in real-time as the buyer may be actively shopping for a car on adealer lot. Typically, a pickup location will be a dealer lot ordistribution location. It should be appreciated that some dealers mayhave multiple locations which could serve as a pickup location. In anexample embodiment, the automobile market data may indicate that theparticular car requested by a consumer should be priced at, for example,$26,000. However, various factors may affect the bid or offer that adealer will make for the particular car. For example, the potential forforming a customer relationship, the value of potential add-on productsand services, or competition with other dealers may cause a dealer tobid lower than normal. In such a case, the dealer may bid $25,000 in aneffort to create a customer relationship, sell add-on products, and/orundercut the competition pricing. Other factors, such as the buyer'scredit score (e.g., FICO score), may be used by a dealer in determininga bid, as this may affect the profitability of a sale.

Further, for example, the particular automobile requested may not beavailable for immediate pickup near the buyer, and various alternativedelivery options may be provided from several dealers' bids. Forexample, a car that is located at an out of state dealer may betransported to a dealer near the buyer. Therefore, for example, theconsumer interface 304 may provide several different bids with differentdelivery options and prices to the buyer, for example, a price of$26,000 to pick up the car at an out of state dealer the next day or aprice of $26,500 to pick up the car at a local dealer in five days. Forexample, a dealer may determine a cost to transport a car from onedealer location to another based on the automobile market data such ascurrent market pricing, current inventory levels, current shippingcosts, and the like. Accordingly, a dealer response may be adjusted bycurrent automobile market conditions. An offer to provide or ship aparticular car to a dealer location near a consumer may be authorizedthrough the dealer interface 306. Inventoryless bidding may be highlybeneficial when dealers that do not have a requested automobile ininventory can still profitably provide a bid. Further, for example, carsthat are not exactly what the buyer requested may also be offered to thebuyer. For example, the buyer may request a four wheel drive car, but ifa two wheel drive car that meets all the other buyer criteria isimmediately available at a nearby dealer, the dealer may provide anoffer to the buyer for this car, possibly at a significantly lowerprice, such as $23,000 instead of $26,000 for a four wheel drive car asrequested. Further, for example, dealers may use information such asratings data to optimize their bids. For example, if gasoline prices areincreasing, mileage ratings for a particular car may dictate increasingor decreasing a bid. If a vehicle has very good gas mileage, and gasprices are skyrocketing, that car may have an increasing demand as gasprices increase, or vice versa. Similarly, safety ratings of vehiclesmay be important to consumer demand if high profile problems haveappeared for a particular automobile style, make, or model. As discussedabove, various automobile market information may be used by a dealerincluding safety information, insurance information, consumer creditinformation, dealer rating information, incentive information, residualvalue information, and/or any other data which may be relevant toconsumers.

The consumer interface 304 may organize dealer bids based on a varietyof factors and may provide supplemental information. For example,certain dealer bids may be selected as the best options, all dealer bidsmay be summarized, various additional ratings, reviews, or popularityinformation, financing information, etc. may also be provided to aconsumer along with any dealer bids. The recommendation engine 312 mayprovide recommendations to a consumer based on the current automobilemarket data. For example, of ten dealer bids provided with a response,three bids may be recommended, for example, as “Great Deals!” It shouldbe appreciated that in some cases, a particular consumer search may notreturn any dealer bids, for example, if consumer search requirements areunrealistic for the consumer's required price range. Also, for example,if only one or two bids are received, the recommendation engine 312 mayrecommend that a consumer wait for a better bid because the bidsprovided are not competitive offers based on the current automobilemarket data stored in the database system 310. Further, in an exampleembodiment, dealer bids may be organized according to distance to adealer pickup location, lowest price, closest match to the consumerentered criteria, a normalized quality index or value index, etc. Theconsumer may be able to toggle between different viewing options fordealer bids or search results.

Further, in an example embodiment, a buyer may be at a dealer lot (e.g.,a Nissan dealer) and take a picture of a VIN on a car (e.g., a Maxima).A bid from a competing dealer (e.g., a Toyota dealer) across the streetmay be received on the mobile device within seconds and includeinformation for a comparable car (e.g., an Avalon) relating to, forexample, gas mileage, safety ratings, price comparisons, residual value,driving directions to the competing dealer, etc. In an exampleembodiment, a dealer may use the geolocation of the buyer, such as ininstances when the buyer is physically located close to the dealer.Accordingly, competing dealer bids may be interbrand or intrabrand innature, and may be tailored to the buyer's particular situation, which aconsumer may find highly advantageous. For example, the buyer may have abid for a car the buyer wants to test drive as well as a bid for acomparable car across the street before a salesman from the dealer evenintroduces himself. Accordingly, a consumer may weigh the pros and consof various dealer bids, based on delivery options, pricing, and anyother relevant variants. Any bids communicated from a dealer interface306 may be stored, for example, in database system 310, to furtherupdate the automobile market information processing system 302 withcurrent automobile market data.

The consumer selects a bid including a delivery option which specifies apickup location (block 412). For example, the car buyer chooses adelivery option of picking up the car at a nearby dealer in five days.As noted above, a dealer may be a franchise dealer entity or anon-franchise distribution location. The buyer may select an offer witha specified delivery option on the consumer interface 304. The car buyermay have been weighing two or more different delivery options and/ordifferent features, price differences, etc., based on the response(s)received through the consumer interface 304. As noted above, theconsumer interface may organize bids and other helpful information in avariety of ways, which may make the information easier for a consumer todigest. It should be appreciated that a buyer will typically want topick up a new car at a convenient location, often near the buyer's home.Accordingly, dealers may attempt to provide delivery options tailoredtowards maximizing profit for the dealer while also maximizingconvenience to the buyer, while also providing a superior bid to otherdealers. By providing multiple bids with different delivery options, thebuyer may be allowed to save time or money based on the buyer'sparticular needs. In an example embodiment, the buyer may provide acounter offer or different request via the consumer interface 304 to adealer via the dealer interface 306. Accordingly, the dealer may respondin kind, and may update delivery options or other terms. It should beappreciated that the consumer selection of a bid may, for example, occursimultaneously with the consumer executing the sale or providing adeposit or down payment, or the like (see, e.g., block 416).Accordingly, in an example embodiment, once the buyer selects a bid, thebuyer has effectively purchased the car, and the dealer does need toworry about the buyer backing out of the deal. Any consumer selections,counter offers, or additional requests or responses may be stored indatabase system 310, as the communications are processed by automobilemarket information processing system 302, providing further dataupdates. Accordingly, in an example embodiment, a consumer may select abid to purchase a car, and that purchase information may then beprovided to another consumer searching for the same type of car withsimilar features, for example, the next day.

Once a bid with a specific delivery option has been selected, the dealerprovides the automobile at the selected dealer according to the consumerbid selection (block 414). For example, the dealer notifies a commonlyowned dealer that the car must be transported to the dealer pickuplocation for delivery in less than five days. In a typical example, thedealer may already have the car in question on the dealer lot, so thecar would not need to be transported. In an example embodiment, thedealer may send a notification or instruction message through the dealerinterface 306, which would be received by a commonly owned dealer inanother city or state. It should be appreciated that the specific mannerof notification or instruction may be changed based on the particularapplication, for example, the automobile market information processingsystem 302 may automatically provide a notification or instruction to adealer to produce or transport a car based on inventory data. It shouldalso be appreciated that particular events may be required to triggerinstructing a car to be delivered to a dealer, such as a deposit,financing approval, etc. Further, the consumer may be required to sendan instruction message from the consumer interface 304 to the dealerinterface 306 affirming that the buyer has agreed to purchase the carfrom the dealer.

The consumer and the dealer execute the sale of the automobile (block416). For example, the consumer electronically signs documentation suchas loan application and a contract and performs an electronic fundstransfer or credit card payment. After the delivery option is selected,an electronic contract may be provided by the dealer for the buyer whomay e-sign the contract, and/or any other loan applications or otherdocumentation as needed. In another example embodiment, paper copies ofa contract may be signed, for example, after the buyer prints them orreceives them from a nearby dealer or through the mail. In an exampleembodiment, the buyer may provide cash or a paper check. It should beappreciated that the process of executing a contract may take some time.For example, the process may occur in several steps, as loan processingmay be required prior to executing a contract for sale of a car. Also,it should be appreciated that, for example, the consumer selection of abid discussed above (see, e.g., block 412) may occur simultaneously withthe consumer executing the sale. Once the sale is completed, the actualtransaction data including the final negotiated price, may be providedto and stored in database system 310. Accordingly, the automobile marketinformation processing system 302 may be updated with current automobilemarket data from every step in the negotiation process between aconsumer and a manufacturer. In an example embodiment, the updatesprovided to the automobile market information processing system 302 areprovided in real-time, for example, data may be transmitted andprocessed within seconds or minutes. Further, for example, it should beappreciated that certain data may be provided to the automobile marketinformation processing system 302 according to a batch processingschedule.

Next, the dealer makes the purchased automobile available according tothe consumer bid selection (block 418). For example, the dealertransports the car from the commonly owned dealer location to the dealerpickup location selected by the car buyer if the car is not alreadylocated at the dealer pickup location. When a purchased car is alreadyat the dealer location where the buyer has agreed to pick the car up,the car does not need to be transported. Many dealers have multiplelocations under the same ownership, and these dealers may drive or shipcars from one dealer location to another if the cost of transporting thecar is justifiable. If a buyer chooses a quicker delivery option, thecar may then be transported from a different dealer location to theselected dealer pickup location. A dealer may interact with theautomobile market information processing system 302 using dealerinterface 306, for example, to receive notification that a car will bepicked up by a buyer, and to report that a car has been delivered to thedealer pickup location. A notification may also be sent via consumerinterface 304 to the buyer that the car is available for pickup at thespecified dealer.

Finally, the consumer picks up the purchased automobile according to theconsumer selected delivery option at the dealer (block 420). Forexample, the car buyer picks up the car at the nearby dealer five daysafter the car sale is executed. The buyer may pick up the car withoutever having to talk to or negotiate, in person or over the telephone,with the dealer. For example, the buyer may arrive at the dealer, showidentification and proof of purchase, and be provided the keys to thecar. The buyer may sign paperwork indicating the car has been picked up.Also, the dealer may offer or provide additional products or services tothe buyer when the buyer goes to the dealer to pick up the car. Forexample, the dealer may offer financing options, warranties, serviceplans, insurance plans, and hard add accessories to the buyer, asdiscussed in further detail above.

Accordingly, it should be appreciated that consumers, dealers, andmanufacturers may receive significant benefits from the method offacilitating an automobile transaction disclosed herein. For example,price setting, inventory management, and production scheduling, may begreatly improved for dealers and manufacturers by utilizing thedisclosed system and method. Consumers may benefit from more competitivepricing, piece of mind knowing that a fair market price is being offeredfor prospective purchases, and improved delivery options that allow theconsumer to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of different deliveryoptions, pricing, and other variables. In an example embodiment,consumers can view prices paid for comparable cars in specific locationsbased on the automobile market data in the automobile market informationprocessing system 302, for example, within a certain time frame such asone month and within a certain proximity to the consumer. Moreover,various inefficiencies in the automobile industry may be minimizedutilizing the presently disclosed system and method.

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of an example data architecture 500.In the example data architecture 500, interface data 502, administrativedata 504, and automobile market data 506 interact with each other, forexample, based on user commands or requests. The interface data 502,administrative data 504, and automobile market data 506 may be stored onany suitable storage medium (e.g., server 226). It should be appreciatedthat different types of data may use different data formats, storagemechanisms, etc. Further, various applications may be associated withprocessing interface data 502, administrative data 504, and automobilemarket data 506. Various other or different types of data may beincluded in the example data architecture 500.

Interface data 502 may include input and output data of various kinds.For example, input data may include mouse click data, scrolling data,hover data, keyboard data, touch screen data, voice recognition data,etc., while output data may include image data, text data, video data,audio data, etc. Interface data 502 may include formatting, userinterface options, links or access to other websites or applications,and the like. Interface data 502 may include applications used toprovide or monitor interface activities and handle input and outputdata.

Administrative data 504 may include data and applications regardingproject data or data related to project compensation. For example,administrative data 504 may include information used for updatingaccounts, such as creating or modifying manufacturer accounts or dealeraccounts. Further, administrative data 504 may include access dataand/or security data. Administrative data 504 may interact withinterface data in various manners, providing a user interface 304, 306,308 with administrative features, such as implementing a user login andthe like.

Automobile market data 506 may include, for example, executed sales data508, consumer data 510, dealer data 512, manufacturer data 514,statistical data 516, and/or historical data 518. Executed sales data508 may include actual negotiated prices for manufacturer and dealersales, differences in list prices to negotiated prices, salesdemographics, etc. Consumer data 510 may include consumer searchactivity, consumer requests and offers, consumer feedback, etc. Dealerdata 512 may include dealer pricing, including list prices, sale pricesfor limited time dealer offers or deals of the day, negotiationinformation such as bottom line pricing, offers received, foot trafficactivity, and dealer inventory data, including current on location data,automobile turnover rates, etc. Manufacturer data 514 may includemanufacturer pricing, including suggested pricing, preferred dealerpricing, etc., manufacturer incentives including cash rebates, speciallease rates, special APR rates, zero down offers, lifetime warranties,guaranteed trade-in offers, etc., and inventory information includingdealer inventory, inventory by location, inventory in transit,manufacturing or production lead times or build times, productionscheduling, shipping scheduling, etc. Statistical data 516 may includeinformation used for providing reports including graphs, forecasts,recommendations, calculators, depreciation schedules, tax information,etc., including equations and other data used for statistical analysis.Historical data 508 may include past sales data, such as historical listprices, actual sale prices, manufacturer and dealer margins, operatingcosts, service costs or profitability, loyalty information, etc. Itshould be appreciated that data may fall under multiple categories ofautomobile market data 506, or change with the passage of time. Itshould also be appreciated that automobile market data 506 may betailored for a particular manufacturer or dealer, for example, amanufacturer may request that a specific type of data that is notnormally stored or used be stored in the database system 310.Accordingly, for example, customized reports may be provided to amanufacturer interface 308 using that specific data for themanufacturer.

The integration of the various types of automobile market data 506received from the consumer interface 304, dealer interface 306, andmanufacturer interface 308 may provide a synergistic and optimalresource for consumers, dealers, and manufacturers alike. In an exampleembodiment, a consumer may benefit greatly from using an application ina mobile device 103 to receive both intrabrand information andinterbrand information in real-time, based only on taking a picture ofVIN. Dealers and manufacturers may be able to provide information to theconsumer in a manner that highlights the benefits of the products therespective dealer or manufacturer would like to sell. The intrabrand andinterbrand information provided on a consumer interface 304 may allowthe best automobile options for a particular consumer to be provided tothat consumer, may allow dealers to compete with other dealers takinginto account a greater amount of automobile market information, and mayallow manufacturers to better follow through with opportunities forsales, which may result in a more efficient automobile market.

Automobile market data 506 may be maintained in various servers 108, indatabases or other files. It should be appreciated that, for example, ahost device 104 may manipulate automobile market data 506 in accordancewith the administrative data 504 and interface data 502 to providerequests or reports to users 114 including consumers, dealers, andmanufacturers, and perform other associated tasks. It should also beappreciated that automobile market data 506 represents automobile marketinformation, and that these terms may be used interchangeably in thisdisclosure depending upon the context.

FIG. 6 is flow diagram illustrating an example process 600 forfacilitating an automobile transaction, according to an exampleembodiment of the present invention. Although the process 600 isdescribed with reference to the flow diagram illustrated in FIG. 6, itwill be appreciated that many other methods of performing the actsassociated with the process 600 may be used. For example, the order ofmany of the blocks may be changed, certain blocks may be combined withother blocks, and many of the blocks described are optional.

In the example process 600, data may flow between the automobile marketinformation processing system 302 and a consumer interface 304 and adealer interface 306, as discussed above based on consumer and dealerinteraction with the automobile market information processing system302. It should be appreciated that the automobile market informationprocessing system 302 may update the automobile market informationstored in the database system 310 when automobile market information isreceived from a consumer, a dealer, or a manufacturer, or from any otherinformation source. Accordingly, the automobile market information mayremain current and/or provide sufficiently recent data for the benefitof consumers, dealers, and/or manufacturers.

The example process 600 may begin with a consumer taking a picture of aVIN using a mobile phone application (block 602). The consumer interface304 may use OCR to determine and provide the VIN to the automobilemarket information processing system 302 to provide a consumer request(block 604). It should be appreciated that OCR may occur in theautomobile market information processing system 302 or at the consumerinterface 304. The automobile market information processing system 302receives the consumer request and prepares automobile market informationbased on the request (block 606). The automobile market informationprocessing system 302 may send a bid request and automobile marketinformation based on the consumer request to the dealer interface 306for one or more dealers (block 608). It should be appreciated that whilethe consumer request is automobile market information, typically,additional automobile market information would be provided with theconsumer request. For example, typically, data relating to recent salesof the requested automobile and/or comparable automobiles may beprovided. In an example embodiment, a target price or “true” value ofthe requested automobile may be provided. One or more dealers receivethe bid request and automobile market information, determine prices anddelivery options for the automobile using the automobile marketinformation, and prepare and provide bids for the consumer (block 610).A dealer bid may be sent from the dealer interface 306 to the automobilemarket information processing system 302 for each dealer that wants toprovide a bid (block 612). The automobile market information processingsystem 302 receives and processes dealer bids and prepares the bids andautomobile market data for the consumer (block 614).

The automobile market information processing system 302 may send dealerbids and automobile market information to the consumer interface 304(block 616). It should be appreciated that automobile market informationmay be provided to the consumer before dealer bids are provided, and/orconcurrently with dealer bids. The consumer may receive the dealer bidsand automobile market information and may select a bid including adelivery option based on the automobile market information (block 618).The consumer interface 304 may send to the automobile market informationprocessing system 302 a selection of a bid indicating that the consumerwants to purchase or lease the automobile based on the selected bid(block 620). The automobile market information processing system 302receives and processes the consumer bid selection (block 622). Forexample, the automobile market information processing system 302 maysend the bid selection to the dealer interface 306 (block 624). Thedealer may receive the bid selection and coordinate a sale by, forexample, transporting the automobile from one dealer location to thedealer location selected for delivery (block 626). Also, for example,the dealer may provide contract or loan documents, collect a deposit ordown payment, or the like. As discussed above, in each of blocks 606,614, 626, and 634, the automobile market information processing system302 may update the automobile market information in the database system310 based on the information received from the consumer, dealer, and/ormanufacturer.

For exemplary purposes, the present disclosure discusses a variousexamples relating to a purchase of a car. However, it should beappreciated that the disclosed system, methods, and apparatus may beadvantageously used in relation to various automobiles other than carsincluding, for example, trucks, vans, sport utility vehicles, jeeps,motorcycles, commercial vehicles, and/or automobiles that have a VIN andrequire a license plate to operate.

It will be appreciated that all of the disclosed methods and proceduresdescribed herein can be implemented using one or more computer programsor components. These components may be provided as a series of computerinstructions on any conventional computer-readable medium, includingRAM, ROM, flash memory, magnetic or optical disks, optical memory, orother storage media. The instructions may be configured to be executedby a processor, which when executing the series of computer instructionsperforms or facilitates the performance of all or part of the disclosedmethods and procedures.

Further, it will be appreciated that the presently disclosed system,methods, and apparatus for performing automobile transactions may beutilized in conjunction with other systems or methods. For example, thepresently disclosed system, methods, and apparatus may be used inconjunction with the disclosure in the co-pending commonly-owned patentapplication filed on Jul. 5, 2011, entitled “AUTOMOBILE TRANSACTIONFACILITATION USING A MANUFACTURER RESPONSE,” the entire contents ofwhich are hereby incorporated by reference herein, and in an exampleembodiment, the features of which may be combined with the features ofthe present disclosure.

It should be understood that various changes and modifications to theexample embodiments described herein will be apparent to those skilledin the art. Such changes and modifications can be made without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the present subject matter and withoutdiminishing its intended advantages. It is therefore intended that suchchanges and modifications be covered by the appended claims.

The invention is claimed as follows:
 1. A method comprising: storing, ona computer readable medium, automobile market data which isrepresentative of recent automobile market characteristics, including atleast pricing data and inventory data, wherein the automobile marketdata includes information received from at least one manufacturer, aplurality of dealers, and a plurality of consumers, wherein at least aportion of the automobile market data is updated in real-time;receiving, via a consumer interface, a first request for a responseregarding a first automobile, wherein the first request is made by aconsumer using a mobile device which takes a picture of a vehicleidentification number and the vehicle identification number isrecognized using optical character recognition; causing at least oneprocessing device to: provide first automobile market data, based on thefirst request, via a dealer interface, wherein the first automobilemarket data is based on real-time automobile market data and actualsales data for comparable automobiles within a predetermined time periodand within a predetermined geographic area; request, via a dealerinterface from at least two dealers, a bid to sell the first automobilebased on the first request, wherein the at least two dealers engage ininventoryless bidding by providing a bid on the first automobile whenthe first automobile is at least one of yet to be manufactured and inthe inventory of another entity; provide the response including at leasttwo bids via the consumer interface, the at least two bids eachincluding at least a price and a delivery option for the firstautomobile, the at least two bids based on the first automobile marketdata; and receiving a consumer selection of a first bid including afirst delivery option which specifies a first pickup location at a firstdealer and a second delivery option which specifies a different secondpickup location, wherein the consumer selection indicates a consumerintention to purchase the first automobile based on the first bid andspecifies one of the first delivery option and the second deliveryoption, wherein the first bid is an inventoryless bid requiring thefirst automobile to be at least one of manufactured and transferred fromthe inventory of another entity to the first dealer.
 2. A methodcomprising: storing, on a computer readable medium, automobile marketdata which is representative of recent automobile marketcharacteristics, including at least pricing data and inventory data,wherein the automobile market data includes information received from aplurality of dealers and a plurality of consumers; receiving, via aconsumer interface, a first request for a response regarding a firstautomobile, the first request including a vehicle identification number;causing at least one processing device to: provide first automobilemarket data, based on the first request, via a dealer interface, whereinthe first automobile market data is based on real-time automobile marketdata and actual sales data for comparable automobiles within apredetermined time period and within a predetermined geographic area;request, via a dealer interface from at least two dealers, a bid to sellthe first automobile based on the first request; provide the responseincluding at least two bids via the consumer interface, the at least twobids each including at least a price and a delivery option for the firstautomobile, the at least two bids based on the first automobile marketdata; and receiving a consumer selection of a first bid including afirst delivery option which specifies a first pickup location at a firstdealer and a second delivery option which specifies a different secondpickup location, wherein the consumer selection indicates a consumerintention to one of purchase the first automobile and lease the firstautomobile based on the first bid and specifies one of the firstdelivery option and the second delivery option.
 3. The method of claim2, wherein the pricing data includes normal listing prices, sale prices,manufacturer incentives, actual prices of executed transactions, andconsumer offers.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the inventory dataincludes at least one of inventory data by location, inventory intransit data, production lead time data, production schedule data, andshipping schedule data.
 5. The method of claim 2, wherein the firstrequest is made by a consumer using a mobile device which takes apicture of a vehicle identification number.
 6. The method of claim 5,wherein the vehicle identification number is recognized using opticalcharacter recognition.
 7. The method of claim 2, wherein the firstrequest includes geolocation information of the consumer.
 8. The methodof claim 2, wherein the first automobile is one of a particular type ofcar with a specific set of features and a particular car with a specificvehicle identification number.
 9. The method of claim 2, wherein thefirst automobile market data provided to the first manufacturer consistsof at least one of the first request and a suggested bid price.
 10. Themethod of claim 2, wherein the first bid is an inventoryless bidrequiring the first automobile to be at least one of manufactured andtransferred from the inventory of another entity to the first dealer.11. The method of claim 2, wherein the consumer selection of the firstbid indicates that the consumer intends to lease the first automobile.12. The method of claim 2, further comprising: causing the at least oneprocessing device to process the consumer selection of the first bid tofacilitate executing a sale including at least one of providing forelectronic signature of documents and providing for an electronic fundstransfer.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first automobile ismade available for pickup at the first dealer according to the consumerselected first delivery option.
 14. The method of claim 2, wherein thedealer interface allows a dealer to request data via a consumerinterface from a plurality of consumers.
 15. The method of claim 2,wherein the dealer interface allows a dealer to request data via amanufacturer interface from at least one manufacturer.
 16. The method ofclaim 2, wherein the first dealer at least one of provides and offers atleast one of a financing plan, a service plan, an insurance plan, awarranty, and a hard add accessory, for at least the first automobile.17. The method of claim 2, wherein the first dealer is at least one of afranchise dealer and a non-franchise distribution location.
 18. Themethod of claim 2, wherein the automobile market data includes consumerinterest data.
 19. The method of claim 2, further comprising: causingthe at least one processing device to provide a manufacturer responsevia the consumer interface including an acknowledgement of interest. 20.The method of claim 2, further comprising: causing the at least oneprocessing device to provide a manufacturer response via the consumerinterface including at least one of a verification, a confirmation, andan offer indicating that the first automobile can be provided for theconsumer.
 21. The method of claim 2, wherein the first automobile marketdata provides a recommended deal of the day.
 22. A method comprising:storing, on a computer readable medium, automobile market data which isrepresentative of recent automobile market characteristics, including atleast pricing data and inventory data, wherein the automobile marketdata includes information received from a plurality of dealers and aplurality of consumers; receiving, via a consumer interface, a firstrequest for a response regarding a first automobile, the first requestincluding data provided with at least one graphical user interfacecomponent; causing at least one processing device to: provide firstautomobile market data, based on the first request, via a dealerinterface, wherein the first automobile market data is based onreal-time automobile market data and actual sales data for comparableautomobiles within a predetermined time period and within apredetermined geographic area; request, via a dealer interface from atleast two dealers, a bid to sell the first automobile based on the firstrequest; provide the response including at least two bids via theconsumer interface, the at least two bids each including at least aprice and a delivery option for the first automobile, the at least twobids based on the first automobile market data; and receiving a consumerselection of a first bid including a first delivery option whichspecifies a first pickup location at a first dealer and a seconddelivery option which specifies a different second pickup location,wherein the consumer selection indicates a consumer intention to one ofpurchase the first automobile and lease the first automobile based onthe first bid and specifies one of the first delivery option and thesecond delivery option.
 23. The method of claim 22, wherein the firstrequest is made by a consumer on a website.
 24. The method of claim 23,wherein the at least one graphical user interface component includes atleast one of a text box, a drop down list, a list box, a radio button, acheckbox, and a slider bar.
 25. The method of claim 22, wherein thefirst bid is an inventoryless bid requiring the first automobile to beat least one of manufactured and transferred from the inventory ofanother entity to the first dealer.
 26. The method of claim 22, furthercomprising: causing the at least one processing device to process theconsumer selection of the first bid to facilitate executing a saleincluding at least one of providing for electronic signature ofdocuments and providing for an electronic funds transfer.
 27. The methodof claim 26, wherein the first automobile is made available for pickupat the first dealer according to the consumer selected first deliveryoption.
 28. The method of claim 22, wherein the dealer interface allowsa dealer to request data via a consumer interface from a plurality ofconsumers.
 29. The method of claim 22, wherein the dealer interfaceallows a dealer to request data via a manufacturer interface from atleast one manufacturer.
 30. The method of claim 22, wherein the firstdealer at least one of provides and offers at least one of a financingplan, a service plan, an insurance plan, a warranty, and a hard addaccessory, for at least the first automobile.
 31. The method of claim22, further comprising: causing the at least one processing device toprovide a manufacturer response via the consumer interface including anacknowledgement of interest.
 32. The method of claim 22, furthercomprising: causing the at least one processing device to provide amanufacturer response via the consumer interface including at least oneof a verification, a confirmation, and an offer indicating that thefirst automobile can be provided for the consumer.
 33. The method ofclaim 22, wherein the first automobile market data provides arecommended deal of the day.
 34. A system comprising: a computerreadable medium storing automobile market data which is representativeof recent automobile market characteristics, including at least pricingdata and inventory data, wherein the automobile market data includesinformation received from a plurality of dealers and a plurality ofconsumers; at least one processing device operably coupled to thecomputer readable medium, the at least one processing device executinginstructions to: receive, via a consumer interface, a first request fora response regarding a first automobile, the first request including avehicle identification number; provide first automobile market data,based on the first request, via a dealer interface, wherein the firstautomobile market data is based on real-time automobile market data andactual sales data for comparable automobiles within a predetermined timeperiod and within a predetermined geographic area; request, via a dealerinterface from at least two dealers, a bid to sell the first automobilebased on the first request; provide the response including at least twobids via the consumer interface, the at least two bids each including atleast a price and a delivery option for the first automobile, the atleast two bids based on the first automobile market data; and receive aconsumer selection of a first bid including a first delivery optionwhich specifies a first pickup location at a first dealer and a seconddelivery option which specifies a different second pickup location,wherein the consumer selection indicates a consumer intention to one ofpurchase the first automobile and lease the first automobile based onthe first bid and specifies one of the first delivery option and thesecond delivery option.
 35. The system of claim 34, wherein the pricingdata includes normal listing prices, sale prices, manufacturerincentives, actual prices of executed transactions, and consumer offers.36. The system of claim 34, wherein the inventory data includes at leastone of inventory data by location, inventory in transit data, productionlead time data, production schedule data, and shipping schedule data.37. The system of claim 34, wherein the first request is made by aconsumer using a mobile device which takes a picture of a vehicleidentification number.
 38. The system of claim 37, wherein the vehicleidentification number is recognized using optical character recognition.39. The method of claim 34, wherein the first request includesgeolocation information of the consumer.
 40. The method of claim 34,wherein the first automobile is one of a particular type of car with aspecific set of features and a particular car with a specific vehicleidentification number.
 41. The method of claim 34, wherein the firstautomobile market data provided to the first manufacturer consists of atleast one of the first request and a suggested bid price.
 42. The methodof claim 34, wherein the first bid is an inventoryless bid requiring thefirst automobile to be at least one of manufactured and transferred fromthe inventory of another entity to the first dealer.
 43. The method ofclaim 34, wherein the consumer selection of the first bid indicates thatthe consumer intends to lease the first automobile.
 44. The system ofclaim 34, further comprising: causing the at least one processing deviceto process the consumer selection of the first bid to facilitateexecuting a sale including at least one of providing for electronicsignature of documents and providing for an electronic funds transfer.45. The system of claim 44, wherein the first automobile is madeavailable for pickup at the first dealer according to the consumerselected first delivery option.
 46. The system of claim 34, wherein thedealer interface allows a dealer to request data via a consumerinterface from a plurality of consumers.
 47. The system of claim 34,wherein the dealer interface allows a dealer to request data via amanufacturer interface from at least one manufacturer.
 48. The system ofclaim 34, wherein the first dealer at least one of provides and offersat least one of a financing plan, a service plan, an insurance plan, awarranty, and a hard add accessory, for at least the first automobile.49. The system of claim 34, wherein the first dealer is at least one ofa franchise dealer and a non-franchise distribution location.
 50. Thesystem of claim 34, wherein the automobile market data includes consumerinterest data.
 51. The system of claim 34, further comprising: causingthe at least one processing device to provide a manufacturer responsevia the consumer interface including an acknowledgement of interest. 52.The system of claim 34, further comprising: causing the at least oneprocessing device to provide a manufacturer response via the consumerinterface including at least one of a verification, a confirmation, andan offer indicating that the first automobile can be provided for theconsumer.
 53. The system of claim 34, wherein the first automobilemarket data provides a recommended deal of the day.
 54. A systemcomprising: a computer readable medium storing automobile market datawhich is representative of recent automobile market characteristics,including at least pricing data and inventory data, wherein theautomobile market data includes information received from a plurality ofdealers and a plurality of consumers; at least one processing deviceoperably coupled to the computer readable medium, the at least oneprocessing device executing instructions to: receive, via a consumerinterface, a first request for a response regarding a first automobile,the first request including data provided with at least one graphicaluser interface component; provide first automobile market data, based onthe first request, via a dealer interface, wherein the first automobilemarket data is based on real-time automobile market data and actualsales data for comparable automobiles within a predetermined time periodand within a predetermined geographic area; request, via a dealerinterface from at least two dealers, a bid to sell the first automobilebased on the first request; provide the response including at least twobids via the consumer interface, the at least two bids each including atleast a price and a delivery option for the first automobile, the atleast two bids based on the first automobile market data; and receive aconsumer selection of a first bid including a first delivery optionwhich specifies a first pickup location at a first dealer and a seconddelivery option which specifies a different second pickup location,wherein the consumer selection indicates a consumer intention to one ofpurchase the first automobile and lease the first automobile based onthe first bid and specifies one of the first delivery option and thesecond delivery option.
 55. A non-transitory computer readable mediumstoring software instructions which, when executed, cause an informationprocessing apparatus to: store automobile market data which isrepresentative of recent automobile market characteristics, including atleast pricing data and inventory data, wherein the automobile marketdata includes information received from a plurality of dealers and aplurality of consumers; receive, via a consumer interface, a firstrequest for a response regarding a first automobile, the first requestincluding a vehicle identification number; provide first automobilemarket data, based on the first request, via a dealer interface, whereinthe first automobile market data is based on real-time automobile marketdata and actual sales data for comparable automobiles within apredetermined time period and within a predetermined geographic area;request, via a dealer interface from at least two dealers, a bid to sellthe first automobile based on the first request; provide the responseincluding at least two bids via the consumer interface, the at least twobids each including at least a price and a delivery option for the firstautomobile, the at least two bids based on the first automobile marketdata; and receive a consumer selection of a first bid including a firstdelivery option which specifies a first pickup location at a firstdealer and a second delivery option which specifies a different secondpickup location, wherein the consumer selection indicates a consumerintention to one of purchase the first automobile and lease the firstautomobile based on the first bid and specifies one of the firstdelivery option and the second delivery option.
 56. A non-transitorycomputer readable medium storing software instructions which, whenexecuted, cause an information processing apparatus to: store automobilemarket data which is representative of recent automobile marketcharacteristics, including at least pricing data and inventory data,wherein the automobile market data includes information received from aplurality of dealers and a plurality of consumers; receive, via aconsumer interface, a first request for a response regarding a firstautomobile, the first request including data provided with at least onegraphical user interface component; provide first automobile marketdata, based on the first request, via a dealer interface, wherein thefirst automobile market data is based on real-time automobile marketdata and actual sales data for comparable automobiles within apredetermined time period and within a predetermined geographic area;request, via a dealer interface from at least two dealers, a bid to sellthe first automobile based on the first request; provide the responseincluding at least two bids via the consumer interface, the at least twobids each including at least a price and a delivery option for the firstautomobile, the at least two bids based on the first automobile marketdata; and receive a consumer selection of a first bid including a firstdelivery option which specifies a first pickup location at a firstdealer and a second delivery option which specifies a different secondpickup location, wherein the consumer selection indicates a consumerintention to one of purchase the first automobile and lease the firstautomobile based on the first bid and specifies one of the firstdelivery option and the second delivery option.